IPEN

The newsletter features updates from IPEN Participating Organizations on some of their work in the region.

Numerous IPEN Participating Organization representatives attended the 4th Asia-Pacific regional meeting on the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM) and related workshops, which occured from 23 - 27 March in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The meeting and workshops were preceded by a South East Asian sub-regional wokshop in support of the ratification and early implementation of the Minamata Convention on Mercury. The SAICM meeting covered issues such as endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs), lead in paint, nanotechnology, highly hazardous pesticides and other subjects in the SAICM.

EU-Funded Study Finds High Lead Levels in Paints

Children Ages 0-6 Risk Permanent and Lifelong Damage

[Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia] The majority of household paints analyzed in seven Asian countries contain unsafe levels of lead; would not meet regulatory standards established in most highly industrialized countries; and, in a number of cases, have astonishingly high lead content, according to a new report. The Asia Regional Paint Report will be released on March 23, 2014 by IPEN and partner organizations in the seven countries at the 4th Asia-Pacific Regional meeting of the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM) convened by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

In addition to being an IPEN Steering Committee Member, Yuyun is also IPEN's Lead on Artisanal and Small Scale Gold Mining.

The Asian Lead Paint Elimination Project Partner Newsletter for February, 2014 is now available, and contains news about partners' progress in developing lead regulations, as well as information about the new chemical control order in the Philippines and more.

IPEN Participating Organization EcoWaste Coalition lauded the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) for promulgating a Chemical Control Order (CCO) prohibiting lead in decorative paint above 90 parts per million (ppm), the protective goal for lead in paint recommended worldwide by IPEN.

IPEN Steering Committee Member Yuyun Ismawati was prominently featured in this New York Times article:

January 2, 2014

(Photo by Kemal Jufri for the NY Times)

Small-Scale Gold Mining Pollutes Indonesian Lands

By JOE COCHRANE

CISITU, Indonesia — In the remote mountains of West Java, workers like 15-year-old David Mario Chandra are an integral part of Indonesia’s gold industry.